SPOKANE, Wash. — Nine Spokane police officers who shot and killed a man they said raised a weapon at them have been identified.
The officers have been identified as William Braten, Michael Brunner, Steven Donges, Will Dowsing, Cpl. Chris Johnson, Trystan Herzog, Ryan McLucas, Dylan Pavlischak and Andrew Wilson.
9 officers who shot armed suspect identified
According to police, just after 6 p.m. on Jan. 31, they received a call from an unrelated witness about an armed man who handed the witness a suicide note. The witness also says the man was threatening to kill him. Patrol officers from Spokane Police responded to the reports of the suicidal man near 500 W. Cliff Drive.
When officers arrived, they said there was a male who fit the suspect's description and was armed with a gun. Officers gave the man commands to drop the gun. According to police, the man raised the handgun in the direction of officers twice during the interaction. Officers reacted by firing their guns at the man.
The man was transported to the hospital but was later pronounced dead.
Police say the officers were equipped with body-worn cameras at the time of the incident.
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KREM 2 looked into the background of each officer involved in the shooting.
Corporal Chris Johnson has fired his weapon four times in the line of duty as a Spokane police officer. Two of those, including last weeks, were fatal, and the other two are still under investigation. The most high-profile shooting, happened in 2022 when Johnson and a detective shot and killed 41-year-old Robert Bradley after his neighbor claimed he was in their yard with an AR-15-style rifle. The shooting is still under review by the Spokane County prosecutor. The mother of Robert Bradley's children is seeking damages from the city and the four officers accused of shooting and killing him. In the lawsuit, she claims the city's failure to "properly train officers regarding the use of force" led to Bradley's death.
Officer Dylan Pavlischak also received a Lifesaving Medal Award after doing a welfare check on a 64-year-old woman who had extremely high blood sugar and getting her medical attention.
Officer Michael Brunner pleaded guilty to reckless driving in 2021 after he t-boned a car, seriously hurting a couple inside. The couple's attorney says Brunner was doing 65 mph in a 30 mile-per-hour-zone while not responding to an emergency call. The couple received a ticket after an officer on the scene said Brunner had the right of way. Brunner was originally charged with felony vehicular assault and laid off by the department. He was later reinstated as a Spokane police officer after the charges were downgraded to a misdemeanor. Just this week, Spokane city council approved a $135,000 settlement to the couple he crashed into.
Officer Steve Donges was previously a police officer with the City of Kent.
Officer Trystan Herzog received the Lifesaving Medal Award for saving the life of a stabbing victim in Downtown Spokane in June 2021 by doing CPR.
Officer William Dowsing previously worked for the Bellevue Police Department as an accident investigator. He left that job to work for Spokane Police in November 2022.
Background information on officers Ryan McLucas, William Braten or Andrew Wilson was not immediately available.
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